A Shot in the Dark - chapter 1
by Sylvie Orp
Summary: Happy New Year. An emergency call-out goes off course. The story continues next month.


"Calling all units. Calling all units. Assistance required at Crofton Street. Repeat, Crofton Street."

Bodie sighed heavily as he swung the car round, hurling his passengers against their respective doors and nearly upturning them all. Doyle, in the passenger seat, made a wild grab at the radio as his head banged against the window.

"4.5 and co are on their way," he reported. They were very close to that address.

Base would know what Doyle meant by 'and co'. After a hard day, and wanting a hot meal and to get into dry clothes - having taken impromptu swimming lessons in the local canal - the pair had been told to pick up Evans and Street on the way back to HQ. They hadn't been heading that way - Bodie's flat was nearest - but orders were orders. When they got to Eltham, Evans sheepishly told them that their car had developed severe gear problems and they needed a lift back. So they all got in and Bodie reluctantly turned the wheels towards the Cow. Now, even that diversion had been diverted by this other fool's errand. Would they ever get home and dry? Bodie screeched to a halt outside the derelict shop at Crofton Street. They all got out simultaneously, guns drawn. They split up silently. After creeping about for a bit, their radios crackled on local frequency.

"I've found Johnson," Doyle informed the team. Even through the ether, they could hear the death knell in their colleague's voice. They didn't need to ask how bad he was. Now they needed to find Moore, Johnson's partner, and the gunman or -men. They crept about some more, 'and co' taking the upper floor. Finding nothing, they felt a little more confident that the sniper had fled, and they made their way down the stairs. Doyle and Bodie, on the ground floor, were also feeling that they were alone and had begun to straighten up a bit. Suddenly there was a crash over to the left. An exchange of fire and of fire returned by the very able CI5 team. The derelict shop was suddenly alive to the roar of guns. Just as suddenly, the firing stopped. The agents stayed where they were for a while before beginning to move tentatively and to find each other among the debris of this long-forgotten emporium.

It was Doyle who found Moore first. He was unconscious but alive. Doyle hunkered down next to him and saw blood seeping through his left sleeve. He was applying a tourniquet when he whirled round, gun in hand, as he heard a sound behind him. It was Evans, who immediately held his gun up in 'surrender'. Doyle lowered his weapon, finished his hasty first aid and paired up to find the others. Doyle heard a scratching noise behind a crate and, when he dragged it away, he discovered Bodie. He was curled up and his teeth were chattering. His whole body seemed to be shivering with shock. "Bodie," Doyle yelped instinctively, but he knew he'd get no response. He was at his friend's side in a moment, mindless of anyone else. He tried to straighten him up a bit, but Bodie moaned in agony. Doyle slid his hand up inside Bodie's jacket. His hand came away bloody. He was just about to get on the radio for an ambulance, when Evans called out his name. There was a lot of query and anxiety in the voice. Doyle was reluctant to leave his friend, but Evans was clearly onto something.

"Won't be long, Sunshine. Just keep breathing, ok?" Doyle trotted over quickly to see what Evans could want that was so urgent.

"Look," he said, pointing to a stranger on the floor.

Apart from the man being dead, Doyle couldn't see Evans' point. "And?" he said tetchily as he heard sirens beginning to swell.

"There's no gun, Ray," Evans said quietly.

Doyle looked again as a cold, icy feeling trickled down his spine. He stared at the corpse. "Do you mean to say that we've shot an unarmed man?"

"More than that, Ray," Evans had to point out, looking across to their dead and injured colleagues. Doyle stared at him and their eyes locked. "This guy's been dead for hours. I think we've shot each other."


End file.
